Recipient of a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award

From celebrated author and illustrator Ashley Bryan comes a deeply moving picture book memoir about serving in the segregated army during World War II, and how love and the pursuit of art sustained him.

Visit the Ashley Bryant Center website to learn more about the author's life and work.

Product Code: 8884
ISBN: 9781534404908
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Pages: 112
Published Date: 10/15/2019
Availability:In stock
N/A
Price: $21.99

In May of 1942, at the age of eighteen, Ashley Bryan was drafted to fight in World War II. For the next three years, he would face the horrors of war as a black soldier in a segregated army.

He endured the terrible lies white officers told about the black soldiers to isolate them from anyone who showed kindness - including each other. He received worse treatment than even Nazi POWs. He was assigned the grimmest, most horrific tasks, like burying fallen soldiers…but was told to remove the black soldiers first because the media didn’t want them in their newsreels. And he waited and wanted so desperately to go home, watching every white soldier get safe passage back to the United States before black soldiers were even a thought.

For the next forty years, Ashley would keep his time in the war a secret. But now, he tells his story.

The story of the kind people who supported him.
The story of the bright moments that guided him through the dark.
And the story of his passion for art that would save him time and time again.

Filled with never-before-seen artwork and handwritten letters and diary entries, this illuminating and moving memoir by Newbery Honor–winning illustrator Ashley Bryan is both a lesson in history and a testament to hope.

Visit Ashley Bryant Center website to learn more about the author's life and work.

Ages 10 and up


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CBC/NCSS Notable Children's Book in Social Studies
Flora Stieglitz Straus Award
Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best
Capital Choices Noteworthy Books for Children's and Teens (DC)
Boston Globe/Horn Book Award
Norman A. Sugarman Children's Biography Award
ALA Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book

"So many unique yet universal aspects of the human experience are touched upon in this lovingly shared memoir.... Watching Bryan generously transform the bittersweet into beauty is watching the meaning of art."– Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A fascinating nontraditional narrative that gives penetrating glimpses of the army experience." - BCCB, starred review

"Illuminating, disturbing, and ultimately triumphant, this account of WWII, as seen through the eyes of a soldier of color and an artist of extraordinary power, is a precious resource for readers of all ages." - Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A striking exhibition of a master artist and national treasure." - Shelf Awareness, starred review

"This unique book, at times both beautiful and sadly horrifying, deserves to be studied and savored." - School Library Journal, starred review

"A vivid, personal narrative. - Booklist, starred review

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